Tuesday, January 19, 2010

My mother-in-law had a serious stroke 6 years ago. It's a miracle that she survived the most difficult moment for her. She took about 2 years to recover except partial of her left leg and left hand are not controllable. Thus, she needs another person to take care partial of her needs.

Since both hubby and me are working, and we are not willing to send my mother-in-law to care centre, the only option we have is to hire a maid. We had just changed to a new Indonesian maid on Christmas eve 2009 and the cost for a 2 years contract is as below:

Agent fee (Kuching agent & Indonesia agent) - RM6800.00

Maid monthly salary - Minimum is RM300.00

So, for a two years contract, one needs to prepare at least RM14ooo.oo. This has not include other cost such as food, clothes, maid's personal care items and other miscellaneous charges for the maid. Hubby said, there are other agency which charged much higher than RM6800. In west Malaysia, the agent fee goes as high as RM8000.00 for a two years contract. The sad part is a big portion of the cost goes to agent or introducer, and not the maid.

There are news that the agent fee is increasing. Just hope that the related parties will plan for Malaysian senior citizen and those with special needs. The aging population is increasing and not many can afford to hire Indonesian maids.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

As a wage earner, some times, I would wonder whether the salary that I am receiving is compatible with what the market is offering out there. I wonder if someone with the same level of education, expertise and experience with me is earning more than what I am receiving.

When I was googling, I found The 2009/2010 Employment Outlook And Salary Guide by Kelly Services Malaysia. The report is very comprehensive and the content is quite interesting with the outlook for recruitment opportunities in various sectors in Malaysia. The salary guide also come with job descriptions of the position/job titles and the minimum and maximum salary offered.

I believe many can benefit from this reports. For wage earner like me, we can have a guideline whether our salary is within the range of what we supposed to receive. For Human Resource Department, they will have a guideline on the salary offered to employees based on their qualification, expertise and experience. For parents, they will know where the current market is heading and can advise their children based on their interest. For students, they will know how their career world is offering and from there can plan their future based on their field of interest.

Of course there are other factors involved when talking about salary offered. But, overall, this report is worth reading.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Time really flies. It has been more than 2 weeks since my last post and it is a new decade now. With this opportunity, I wish everyone a very happy and fruitful 2010. May all our wishes and dream come true in 2010.

Recently I emailed to Public Bank Card Services to request for my Master card annual fee waiver. Within 2 days, I received a reply from the Card Services centre mentioning that they had submitted my request for considerations. After about a month later, I received an official reply from PB Card Services on my request. I am glad that PB Card Services had waived the annual fee for both of my cards. The reason for the waiver is because my cards meet their minimum card retail usage.

If you wish to know more details on the waiver details, I listed down as below:

For principal card

(Retail usager per annum) : (Annual Fee)

RM1-RM1500 : 0% @ RM75

RM1501-RM3000 : 25% @ RM56.25

RM3001-RM4500 : 50% @ RM37.50

RM4501-RM6001 : 75% @ RM18.75

RM6001 & Above : 100% @ RM0

For supplementary card

(Retail usager per annum) : (Annual Fee)

RM1-RM750 : 0% @ RM45

RM751-RM1500: 25% @ RM33.75

RM1501-RM2250: 50% @ RM22.50

RM2251-RM3000: 75% @ RM11.25

RM3001 & Above: 100% @ RM0

If you wish to have 100% waiver for your credit card annual fee, spend at least RM6001 per annum if you are the principal card holder and RM3001 if you are a supplementary card holder. But, I think there is no harm to try to request for the waiver. If you are lucky, you might get 100% even if your retail purchase is less than RM6000 per annum. They know, it is a competitive market out there!

If you have credit card waiver terms and conditions from other banks, do share with me.

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About Me

I am Michelle from Kuching, a small developing city in Malaysia. I hope my sharing on financial matter on my blog will bring benefits to all my readers. For inquiries, please contact me at yan6500 [at] gmail [dot] com

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